Bon Jovi: Trump's 'evil genius' helped torpedo Bills bid

"It's genius what he did because he was taking out a serious candidate to buy the team and then hope that he would get it at a bargain price," Bon Jovi said. "But we were as real as real got and, you know, I'm broken-hearted because I would have loved it."

Author:
Jon Campbell

Published:
5:56 PM EST January 17, 2018

ALBANY - Jon Bon Jovi's failed attempt at buying the Buffalo Bills left him "broken-hearted" — and the "evil genius" of Donald Trump is partly to blame, the rock star said Wednesday.

Bon Jovi appeared on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show to reveal the shock jock will formally induct him and his band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April.

The conversation turned to football at the end of the hour-long interview when Stern quizzed Bon Jovi about his pursuit of the Bills in 2014.

Stern asked Bon Jovi whether he believed a report in GQ magazine that said Trump — who was also bidding on the team — helped orchestrate a campaign against the rock star and his music to try to discredit his bid.

Bon Jovi said he believes it to be true, calling it an "evil genius" move by the man who became the Republican president.

"It’s genius what he did because he was taking out a serious candidate to buy the team and then hope that he would get it at a bargain price," Bon Jovi said. "But we were as real as real got and, you know, I’m broken-hearted because I would have loved it."

Bon Jovi said the disappointment over losing the team, along with major disruptions in his music career, helped send him to therapy.

“I’m over it now," he said. "But it took years of therapy to get over it.”

Bon Jovi partnered with Canadian magnates Larry Tanenbaum and the Rogers family on his bid, which fueled speculation they would relocate the team to Toronto.

Political consultant Michael Caputo told GQ and other media that Trump told him to organize a movement against Bon Jovi's bid by tapping into the fear he would move the team.

The effort gained widespread attention in western New York, where bars and restaurants put up signs printed by the Caputo-led group declaring themselves "Bon Jovi Free Zones".

Bon Jovi told Stern the relocation speculation was untrue: He planned on moving to the Buffalo area if he won the bid for the Bills.

Music would have taken a back seat to the team and become "more of a hobby," Bon Jovi said.

Ultimately, neither Trump nor Bon Jovi won the bid for the team, which went to Terry Pegula, a billionaire who also owns the Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans hockey teams.

"I think that we could have done a lot of amazing things, but it didn’t work out in the end," Bon Jovi said. "The guy that got it, I think he’s doing a very good job."